


If You Want

by Glitteredwithstars



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Childhood Friends, F/M, Fluff, Mentions of alcoholism, ricky and gina are just like the best friends ever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:13:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21816445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glitteredwithstars/pseuds/Glitteredwithstars
Summary: "My names Ricky, by the way" He says, he rubs the back of his neck and kicks at the gravel.Gina rolls her eyes and doesn't say anything in response, but instead walks her way into a standing position, hands gripping the chains of the swing, all signs pointing to her next move. He doesn't budge though, plants his feet and works up a smirk again.Again, Gina doesn't back down. So she kicks her legs and lets herself fly free, she plants her feet just as she reaches Ricky's face, their noses touch. "Move", Gina states, not bite but she makes her point transparent."Tell me your name", he says and smiles in the same way, like he has power over her.

A Ricky/Gina childhood friends AU, in where their just like, always there for eachother...
Relationships: Ricky Bowen/Gina Porter, Ricky Bowen/Nini Salazar-Roberts
Comments: 14
Kudos: 109





	If You Want

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all, I hope you enjoy this!  
> I was reading some of my favorite fics, and this just so happens to be like my favorite trope ever, it just makes my heart swoon. And there isn't enough fics in the tag, for Rina, or like any ship so I thought I would contribute.
> 
> COmments are always appreciated*

November, 2010.  
She's wrapped in warm layers, a chunky cardigan over her dress, and a scarf wrapped all the way to her ears. Her hair is just above her shoulders, every curl in its right place. Her and her mother had spent all morning fussing at one another over the whole thing.

"Now honeybee", her mother would singsong, flashing her teeth, in the way she liked to do. Her hands were placed snug on Gina's shoulders, a firm grip, holding her in place, controlling her. 

"We've been over this before. First day at a new school is important for first impressions. We wouldn't want you looking like a mess, sweetheart. Now would we?". She smiles again and gets back to work, redoing the pieces that Gina had messed up during her "tantrum" though really she had only asked for it to be put in a bun. 

Gina always preferred it to be out of her face, she liked being active and getting her hands in the dirt, something her mother detested so naturally she liked it even more. Being seven wasn't about first impressions, or making a right one. It was about having freedom, getting dirty and not caring what people thought of you, cause you didn't even care yourself. And her hair was just another way for her mother to control her even when she wasn't around, another mark of her approval.

Gina doesn't protest, she's seven and it's all about pleasing and following at this age. A yes mommy deary and she could get off almost unscathed.

She unravels her scarf and stuffs it in her backpack. It's sparkled pink and Hello Kitty, her daddy took her right before they moved. "anything for you, sweetheart." , He said tucking a loose curl behind her ear. Gina's only seven but she's smart enough to know when they're about to go on another fun adventure. Her parents yelling and the sound of a bottle smashing the night before was also another indication too, one her parents liked to deny, but was proven nonetheless anyway. 

That night she walked out of the store with a shiny new backpack, and the next morning they were packed and ready to leave. On to the next.

It's right after lunch and time for recess, making friends hadn't gone too well so she resided herself to the bench, the one that sat right next to the swing sets, just in case a seat were to open up. Except, one hadn't, and she had been patiently waiting for over eight minutes, and recess only lasted for fifteen. The only thing she had been looking forward to all day was getting onto that darn swing, letting the wind fly through her perfect curls, freedom at its finest.

Gina wouldn't have been so fired up if it weren't for the one boy, swinging in front of her that hadn't given another turn the whole time they had been out there. He had curly hair, like hers, which, she liked., it was wild and ripping through the wind, and the light made it look like it was on fire. What she didn't like was that his mouth was twisted into a smirk, and his eyes had been glued on her the whole time, like he knew what she wanted. Later she would realize it was because they wanted the same thing.

But she's seven, and things aren't as clear, they're black and white, really, and innocence clouds her mind. So instead, she huffs and marches over there, straight defiance in her eyes.

"Get off", Gina demands. Her mouth twisting into a frown. Her arms are crossed, waiting for an answer. The boy turns his attention from the sky to her and eventually uses his feet to slow himself down after a swing or two. Once he gains his barrings and is in a mostly still state, he looks at her and flashes his pearly whites. "I like your sweater" is all he says, and he kicks up his feet to start swinging again. He's one of the older boys, she can tell. The first and second graders had recess at the same time. Which lead to most of recess being the second graders bullying the first. 

Sadly, curly haired boy fell into this stereotype. She wasn't one to be pushed around though, Gina had fire behind her eyes and viciousness in her words. So, instead of cowering she takes his legs right as they go up, and yanks him off the swing.

He falls right on his butt. 

The gravel makes a crunch as he falls, and cuts into his hands, making him bleed. He does not cry.

The strange thing though is that he actually laughs. And not like a little huff, but full on manic, hysteric laughing,

Gina thinks he's crazy.

Gina was raised right though, so she sticks out her hand and offers to help him up.

The boy's eight years old, and he isn't supposed to like girls yet. At least according to best friend number one (Big Red), they were infectious, monstrous creatures, swarming with icky cooties, dispersed by long hair and shiny lip gloss. Though, as he takes her small warm hand placed between their bodies his stomach fills with butterflies, and she smells like strawberries, which is his favorite fruit, and he thinks that they aren't so bad after all.

He also likes the way her hair curls like his, but is placed so meticulously that it looks perfect. He wants to run his hands through it.

Instead of apologizing, Gina steps behind him and sits on the swing. There's only three minutes left, but she wants to make the most of it. The thing is, though, he's standing right in her way.

"My names Ricky, by the way" He says, he rubs the back of his neck and kicks at the gravel.

Gina rolls her eyes and doesn't say anything in response, but instead walks her way into a standing position, hands gripping the chains of the swing, all signs pointing to her next move. He doesn't budge though, plants his feet and works up a smirk again.

Again, Gina doesn't back down. So she kicks her legs and lets herself fly free, she plants her feet just as she reaches Ricky's face, their noses touch. "Move", Gina states, not bite but she makes her point transparent.

"Tell me your name", he says and smiles in the same way, like he has power over her.

Gina huffs and resigns in resentment. "Gina" she states flatly.

He laughs and moves, and instead of walking away he goes towards the pole of the swings, and sits down. The rest of the time he watches her and waits.

Eventually they hear their teachers call, and everyone starts running towards the school. As she slows herself down and gets off of the seat, he's walking towards her with a sparkled pink Hello Kitty backpack in hand.

He offers it to her with a smile and rubs the back of his neck. She has a feeling it's something he does when he's nervous.

Gina offers him a smile back, and takes it with a thank you to follow.

They walk towards the school together.

Before they make their separate ways, she opens up the emergency pouch of her backpack( Her mother always prepped one on the first day at a new school. 'You never know what could happen honeybee', she would say) and pulls out a bright purple band-aid, "For your hand", she says. Taking it in hers, she covers the cut with it. The blood had clotted up, but it was the sentiment that counted anyways.

"Thanks", he flashes his pearly whites and runs towards his class.

Gina might like him, maybe even thinks Ricky could be her friend. She's never had one of those before. A smile appears, she likes the idea. 

The rest of the day Ricky is teased by his classmates for the band-aid, he doesn't take it off though. It smells like strawberries, so it smells like her. He even takes it home and tucks it away in his drawer, which, later his father will tell him is gross but an eight year old boy doesn't care so, whatever.

The next day they find each other on the swings, it becomes a regular thing all year long. 

August 2014

They're both laying on Ricky's bed, though Gina's is laying with her head on the bottom, Ricky's feet in her face. Over the past three years this had become the usual, Gina would go over to Ricky's almost everyday after school, it became their little routine. She liked it at his place better anyway, it was bigger and there wasn't parents screaming at each other or the overwhelming stench of booze either. He also had a dog named Spike, who was fluffy and licked Gina every time she saw her. (Yes, it was a girl, but Ricky had named her so it sorta made sense, boys always want something similar to them). Her mother would never let her have a pet, so it was an added bonus. It was mostly him and his dad with the occasional appearance of his mother every other week. She would greet Gina with a "Oh, hi, honey" and turn her attention back to whatever was more important at the time. Gina thinks she never really cared enough to learn her name.

His dad on the other hand, was always there. He was warm and kind, and always called her by GiGi, it stuck after the first week she spent at his house.

"He nicknames his favorite people", Ricky had told her as she left to go home.

The thing was though, is that he was always there. Ricky had told her that his dad had a sadness problem and made him stay home from work, or really anything outside of the house. It reminded Gina of her father, with the exception of alcohol.

The first and only time Ricky had gone over to Gina's was the end of first grade, his parents were going to be out for the night and Gina had invited Ricky over for a sleepover. This was before puberty, so co-gendered sleepovers were "totally fine" according to their parents, the thought never even occurred to the two that it wasn't. The night had started out fine, her father had ordered them pizza (her mother totally hated the carb load) and they spent most of the night playing games in her room. She totally kicked his butt every time.

Inevitably though her dad had tapped into his booze, hard-straight liquor. He always told her he liked it better because it got the job done quicker. 

Most of the time it turned him into a useless blob on the couch, and he would sleep till it wore off, then start again. This time though, was one of the rare times it turned him into a raging psychopath who bared his teeth and started a fight with someone who even breathed the wrong way. 

It had started when her mother had asked him to get off his chair and move to their bed, he was snoring up a storm and it thundered through the house, they swore it shook the wall hangings everytime he released a breathe. Anyways, well, this just pissed her father off.

"Ill lay where I want. This is my goddamned house Kathleen", he was never one to shout, but there was always this grit and growl to his tone that made it even worse. The screaming was left to her mother. 

After a little more back and forth, sound of a bottle or whatever it was, was crashing against the tile in the kitchen. And then her mother's shrill scream could be heard.

Right in the middle of their game of would you rather, Ricky shot straight up from her fuzzy green beanbag and went towards her door. Immediately Gina got up and caught his hand before he could open the door.

"You don't wanna do that", she said pushing it back to his side. 

"Why?", his face scrunched up and he quirked his eyebrow in confusion, like it was the most insane thing he had ever heard.

"Because..." Gina sighed and trailed off. She can hear the break in her voice, and she knows what's coming. 

She bites the inside of her cheek as hard as she can, and shuts her eyes. This usually worked when she felt tears come. Her mother always said, "Big girls don't cry, now do they honeybee", her nails pinching the inside of her arm. Gina didn't really know what that meant, she never really felt like a big girl. Weren't they supposed to have freedom, and make their own choices. Where was her freedom, where were her choices? Her mother was always looming around a corner, waiting to jump the moment she did or said something that wasn't in her line of acceptable. 

Before she can break skin, she feels Ricky's warm hands clasp her shoulders and give them a light tug. 

"Hey", he says."I do that too, it only makes it worse." He removes his hands from her shoulders and grabs at her fingers.

Gina opens her eyes, but only to tell him that, no, it actually doesn't make it worse, it makes it better, and that he's wrong and doesn't know what he's talking about because if she can focus her pain somewhere else then maybe it won't hurt so bad.. When she opens her eyes, though, she can't get that out and instead there is a stream of tears and they won't stop, and her throat hurts . So, she falls to the ground, but her landing is soft because Ricky's there to catch her and wrap his arms around Gina.

He's only eight and he's already taking better care of her than her own parents ever could.

"I'm sorry that your parents fight", he says after the river of tears stop and she can open her eyes without them filling up. 

"Mine do too"

"I'm sorry too", is all she replies, because she is. Because she wishes something different for him, they way he wished that for her too.

The sound of her parents, or clashing is no longer apparent and only silence can be heard. Ricky get's up and helps Gina up too.

"I'm tired" is all he says as he climbs into her bed, Gina follows closely behind and lays down too. 

They keep the lights on, because the dark is scary, and monsters and parents screaming hide there too.

They're lying on a bed right now, in a different position, in a different room, but the feeling is eerily the same. Gina can feel that build up of tears coming back, but she's three years older now, so she pushes them down, as she pushes Ricky's feet from her face and moves into a sitting position. 

It's the night before the new school year, and they've been lying in his room for almost the whole day. Usually it would be spent with them eating pizza and watching one of their favorite movies, but this time its different. 

This is the first time since the 1st grade, in the history of ever that they will be attending different schools. Their parents had fussed over their melancholy all summer, with a  
'You guys are ridiculous', but to a ten and eleven year old this was like the biggest most traumatic life event ever. He was going into sixth, while Gina was headed into fifth.

Gina can't remember the last time she didn't play with Ricky at recess, or trade lunches with him before school. They were tied at the hip and separation anxiety was proving to be a very real thing at the current moment. 

Ricky gets up, and scoots over to her, he can feel her emotions radiating off of her. Her sadness overpowers her, it spreads across her face and overtakes her body. He can always tell when she's sad, it has become one of his most impressive talents.

"You won't forget me, right?" she says. 

Ricky scoffs, and wraps and arm around her shoulder. "Seriously", he questions, and quirks his eyebrows in that annoying way he always did.

And, okay Gina could admit when she was being a little bit of a drama queen, but hey, it was in her nature, sulking was just apart of who she was.

"Of course not", he continues, "You're like my most bestest friend ever, all those cool old kids have nothing on you". he flashes his pearly whites, something he knows that makes Gina flash them right back. A loose curl falls from her face and he huffs it out of the way for her. She sticks her tongue out at him, squinting her right eye.

"Okay, just promise me things won't change. That we'll see one another everyday", Gina says falling back onto his bed, Ricky being dragged with her.

"Promise".

December 2014

Things change though, and promises aren't what they once were, because they don't see each other everyday anymore, Gina actually hadn't seen him since he joined the basketball team.

When she had cried to her mother about it all she was met with was a, "Oh, sweetie, people grow apart, it is just how it goes", shooing her off to her room, like her tears were too much of a bother to deal with, so.

And, honestly, Gina didn't really care, because people don't just grow apart, her and Ricky couldn't just "grow apart". 

Okay, well, maybe she did care, cause she can feel that all familiar feeling come up, the rush of tears pounding her eyes like a tidal wave. She bites the inside of her cheek, but it doesn't work anymore, the only thing that did work was Ricky, and he wasn't there anymore to wrap his limbs around her and comfort her. Lay over her like a warm blanket and tell her that everything will be okay. 

The next day, after school, her sadness had quickly turned into anger. It ripped through her like fire and made her cheeks burn, she didn't think she had been so angry all her eleven years of living, honestly. 

She had it all planned out that morning, she was going to skip the bus and march over to his house straight after school, and confront him. 

What she hadn't expected was to find him on the swings that sat outside her school, their swings, all alone. Immediately she could tell something was wrong, his head was down and he wasn't even swinging, just slowly pushing back and forth. Which, was so not like him.

"Hey", is all Gina says as she takes the seat next to him. It's the middle of December so the seats are are icy and the coldness sends a chill through her body, but she doesn't really care. All she wants is to figure out what's wrong with her friend. 

Ricky doesn't say anything but she can hear his quiet sobs, and see his shoulders shaking. She doesn't know what to do with this, Ricky's never cried in front of her before, usually it was her crying. 

Gina immediately grabs his hands that are gripping the chains of the swing, and takes them in hers. They're rough and cold, and her warmth seeps through them, like a glove on a hand.

"What's wrong", she asks and pulls his hands towards her, forcing Ricky to actually look at her. His eyes are red, and his face is blotchy like he had been sitting out here for a long time, crying. Waiting. 

Ricky sniffs, "My mom left.", he stops and takes a breath like he's getting ready to say something big,"and I haven't seen her since school started. And I'm sorry for being a bad friend, and not talking to you, or inviting you over anymore, and I miss playing with you, and eating pizza, and watching our favorite movies all night long". That sudden flare of anger rises in Gina again, it burns her ears.

Moms aren't supposed to just leave their kids, she thinks, they're supposed to be supportive and help them when their sad, not be the cause of it. They're supposed to stay.

She doesn't say that though.

Gina stands up and wraps her arms around him, pulling Ricky into the biggest bear hug she can muster. He always did it for her when she was upset, and she hoped it had the same effect on him. 

She thinks it does, because he sorta just melts into her and grips her right back. It's the best feeling either of them has had in a long time. Gina cries too.

He's the first to pull away, and he does it with a smile. 

"Thanks."

Gina smiles back.

"I missed you." She says, as she shoves him away. Her anger wasn't totally lost. Well maybe it was, but she didn't want him to know that. 

He sticks his tongue out at her as he swings back and laughs, she giggles back.

They spend the next thirty minutes swinging until his dad pulls up and takes them home. He smiles when he sees Gina run up behind Ricky, and greets her with her usual nickname.

His dad orders them pizza, and they spend the rest of the night binge watching all their favorite movies.

April 2017

Dancing is an art. 

It takes grace, agility, and quick-paced cavalier refinement.

Her mother had placed her in dance classes the second she went into middle school. She told Gina, it was "important to shape into a elegant young lady", and apparently ballet was the clear answer to that. 

Initially Gina hated it, another way for her mother to wrap her suffocating fingers around her neck. Stepping into the room always had her feeling like her mother was there, breathing down her back, whispering commands in her ear. 

But, as she's learned, things change, and surprisingly dancing is one of freedoms finest outlets. It isn't only ballet, she'll never tell her mother that though.

She also learns that she's pretty good at it too. Her moves are swift and sharp, lines clean and cutting. Her feet just as fast paced and smooth. 

She's thirteen and learns that this can have its advantages outside of dance class. It's the end of the year dance and she's by far the best one out there.

Ricky hadn't noticed though, definitely not. He didn't notice the way her white dress twirled and twirled under the luminescent light. Or the way she was painted in colors of yellow, purple, and blue. Her curls loose and wild, and the way bounced to every step, it reminded him of a lion, he definitely didn't notice that either. 

She was beautiful really, he hadn't ever used that word before with a girl. It fitted though, so.

Yeah.

He's fourteen and he's having these feelings that suddenly don't make sense. Like, when Gina smiles and her eyes crinkle, or she laughs and there's her signature snort that follows. It all works its way back to his stomach, and makes his palms sweat, and he can't seem to look her in the eyes anymore. It's crazy, really, because this is his best friend, she's a complete and utter dork, who's favorite movie is Titanic, who cries every time Rose makes her way up those stairs and kisses Jack. 

These feelings were like, really, really crazy. 

Apparently he's just made peace with this reality, because he's been standing in the corner of the gym all night long, watching. He probably looked like a creep, but whatever. Gina, had come over a few times, tried pulling him onto the dance floor, he planted his feet though, and pouted. He was all limbs, lanky and awkward, his dad always joked that he had two left feet. Dancing wasn't his thing, even for Gina. 

Big Red's standing next to him, like he has been all night. 

"Are you gonna tell her", is all he says. 

Ricky, scoffs, like he doesn't know what hell he's talking about. Had he really been that noticeable? Jeez.

"What?"

He can't see him, but Ricky can practically feel Big Red roll his eyes. He pushes himself off of the wall and stands in front of him. 

'Dude, you've been staring at her. Like. All night. You spend like every second you can with her, it's so obvious." He pats his shoulder, and pulls a smug smirk. Like he knows something Ricky doesn't.

Ricky thinks we would like to hit him, right about now. 

Instead, he pushes his hand off his shoulder with a little extra force than necessary, and starts to walk towards the platter of cookies on the table to left of him. 

They're chocolate chip, his favorite. 

"Honestly, I don't know what you're talking about." Ricky laughs, and takes a bite out of the treat.

That was a lie, he did know what Big Red was going on about, but he wasn't going to go around admitting that to him, he could barely even admit it to himself. According to the movies, it was all about the chase, a game of cat and mouse. Okay, maybe he wasn't so interested in that, but he was scared and fear could be a pretty overtaking feeling.

Big Red says something else, but Ricky doesn't catch that because he's walking towards Gina. The dance is almost over and his dad is taking her home, which means he's taking her home. 

He pushes his way through the awkward teens grinding on each other and reaches Gina, she's dancing with some of her dance friends, and doesn't even notice Ricky right behind her. 

He's met with an elbow to the face. And damn, it really hurts. 

Suddenly he feels a rush of blood flow from his nose, and its dripping on the floor. He can see the droplets making a pattern on the wood, they're bright red and remind him of red skittles, he hates red skittles. The girl next to him screams, because that's totally necessary. And know he was a pounding headache too, great.

Gina whips her head around. "Shoot, Ricky, I'm sorry". She pushes him by the shoulders and away from the crowd of teens. 

"Here". She takes his hands away from his face, and places a napkin on his nose. 

And then she's laughing, because apparently this is funny to her. 

Ricky shouldn't be shocked though, ever since he met her at the swings she's shown taking joy in inflicting pain on him. He laughs too.

"I'm glad that my pain can bring you pleasure." They're walking towards the exit, it's 7:46 and his dad said he would be there to pick them up at 7:50. He was always one to show up early though. 

They walk outside, and the air has a bite to it. It's late April, but it was Utah, and winter didn't know when to leave. 

She's still laughing, or rather snorting and Ricky's stomach flutters, he should really eat something he thinks. She's walking towards him with her arms stretched out, and tries to pull him into a hug. Ricky pushes her arms away and tries to make a break for it. 

Gina's quicker than him though, and she jumps on his back before he can truly make his great escape. She wraps her legs around him and clings to him like a koala. 

"I'm not letting go until you accept my apology." She tells him, and he believes her because she's got a death grip on his shoulders, and shows no signs of letting go.

He doesn't really mind though.  
She smells like strawberries, he thinks.  
And her coat is pillow soft against his neck.

'Well, I guess you're staying up there." he says, his dad pulls up about three seconds later and he gives her a piggy back ride and dumps her in the backseat. 

The whole way to her house, his dad's fussing over the bruised nose, asking if he'd gotten into a fight at the dance. Which was ridiculous because Ricky was practically skin and bones, sure, he had height, but strength was not an allotted trait God had gifted him. 

After a little bit of yelling, Gina stepped in and told him that it was her. Just a dancing accident, nothing to worry about, Mr.Bowen. That cleared it up pretty quickly and they both shared a laugh over it, again, why did people take so much joy in his pain?

He pulls up to the front of her house, and Ricky gets out to walk her up to her front door. He even opens her door, because he's a gentleman. 

Yeah, he has manners.

They reach her front door, and the porch light casts a soft glow on the two of them. She's looking him in the eyes, like she's waiting for something, and there's a soft smile playing at her lips. Gorgeous was another word for her too, he thinks. She steps back and cracks open her front door, "wait here," is all she says as she walks backwards into her house leaving the door wide open. 

He peers into her house and can see Gina rummaging through her freezer, the glow of the fridge lighting up the pitch black kitchen. He hadn't been inside since that one night, he can almost here the clashing of glass, almost. She returns with a cold pack in one hand, and a snickers in the other. 

His favorite.

"One's for your nose, the other's because I'm sorry." she shoves them into his hands.< /p> "Like soooo sorry", she adds for good measure.

"It's my last one too, so you should be thankful"

Snickers happened to be Gina's favorite candy too, and she had a sweet tooth like he hadn't ever seen. So, she really must feel bad this time.

Damn, she really made it hard to be mad at her.

And suddenly, there's those stupid butterflies fluttering in his stomach and his palms are sweating, and it's like super hot. Why did Aprils in Utah have to be so damn warm?

And apparently he's just left all common sense to the wind because suddenly he's lunging forward and he's pressing his lips to hers. It lasts all about three seconds because his brain catches up with his body and he pulls away from her. Her eyes are big, and her cheeks are flushed red, and he would really like to kiss her again. God. what was wrong with him. 

He doesn't though.

Before she can say anything, or even blink really, he's running down her steps and is yelling a quick goodbye before practically jumping into the car. God, what did he just do? Like, really, he couldn't have been anymore inappropriate or dumb than he was all of about ten seconds ago. He turns towards his dad, who's giving him the biggest shit eating grin he's seen ever seen in his life. Ricky groans and and slams his head against the seat's headrest. 

"Just go, now, Please."

April 2018

It all starts when they walk into the movie theater and order a Blue Raspberry slushy to share. They are there to see the new Thor movie, but Gina has a feeling that Ricky's there to see the girl with the dazzling smile behind the counter. Later she'll learn her name is Nini. 

She has long brown hair, that falls just below her shoulders, it's shiny and Gina bets it feels like silk. The girl also has the whitest teeth she had ever seen, and cringed every time she flashed her pearly whites. Not, really, but, drama queen here.

They're standing in line waiting to order their usual when they finally get to the counter. Ricky purposefully choose her line, even though it was twice as long, and they were probably going to miss the trailers, but Gina wasn't one to complain though. 

"Hi, how may I help you?", she flashing that show stopping smile, and Gina can practically feel Ricky melt. 

"Uh.." Ricky stammers his words, because apparently speaking was something that slipped his mind, especially when talking to a pretty girl. Gina rolls her eyes.

Now, she totally wasn't jealous, like at all. It had been exactly 12 months and five days since Ricky kissed her on her doorstep. They didn't really talk about it after that and Gina chalked it up to teenage hormones and Ricky's just utter lack of self control. So yeah friends it was, friends they were. Totally fine.

"Can we get a blue raspberry slushy, please", she finishes for him. 

Ricky rams his shoulder into her's says, "I can speak for myself thankyouverymuch" as the girl turns and fills up their cup. Gina huffs a laugh, "Didn't seem like it bud, just thank me already and move on." 

"Just did", he shoots back.

Before Gina can respond the girl comes back with their cup and tells them the amount. As he's handing her the cash, Ricky says, "Im Ricky by the way. You go to East High, right? I think I've seen you around." 

Gina knows he's seen her around.

"I do, Nini," she extends out her hand.

Gina doesn't tell her that they already know that because its written on her name tag, she opts for a smile instead.

Ricky takes her hand and they do this weird thing were they're not really shaking each other's hand, but just holding it and looking into each other's eyes. 

Gina scoffs "Well, this has been fun, But we're gonna miss the movie if we don't go."

"I'm sure Ricky will be sure to say hi tomorrow at school, Right Ricky?"

"Uh, yeah", he clears his throat and lets go of her hand. And, before he can say anything else Gina's dragging him by the arm towards their theater. 

Slushies become his favorite after school snack. Gina swears his tongue turns permanently blue from how many he drinks. He tells her he just can't stop drinking them, its become a disgusting addiction now, but they didn't have to go to the movie theater for a slushy and they didn't have to go at 4:15 everyday either, right when Nini's shift started. 

It's the same routine over and over again, a hey and awkward stilted conversation about whatever mundane bullshit goes on during school hours. Even Gina's become discouraged at this point.

Ricky had bought exactly seventeen slushies from her and still no dice. Nini likes him, she can tell and maybe she isn't well versed in high school girls, but it seems pretty mean to keep making her poor best friend come up here every day afterschool, just to talk to her.

And then, finally it happens. Gina isn't there when it does, but she receives a very loud facetime call after the fact. 

He's mostly screaming and laughing, but she gets the idea. Nini said yes! She tells him she's happy for him, but she's just mostly relieved that her friend won't die of a sugar overdose in the near future. That one really kept her up at night.

Ricky and Nini, they become a packaged deal. You couldn't get one without the other. 

Gina liked Nini, honest to God. She had this effervescent charm about her; it carried in the way she walked and the way she talked, she dazzled everywhere she went. Ricky had always been into sparkly things. 

She also had like, the prettiest voice ever according to RIcky. Gina had never heard it before, but she took his word for it.  
So suddenly it was all Nini, all the time. 

Gina didn't care really, because his dad still called her by her nickname, and his dog still licked her face-she never did that to Nini- and Ricky still laughed every time she cried at the end of titanic. Things were still mostly the same, and Gina sure as hell wasn't scared she was being replaced because that was totally crazy. Right?

So yeah.

June 2018

"So, like what's the deal with you and Gina?", they're taking off their skates when NIni asks the question. It's Friday, so that means it's date night and skating was kinda their thing.

It hits Ricky like a ton of bricks, and sorta knocks the wind out of him,  
has him stumbling back a little.  
It's a loaded question, and he's not really sure why. 

"What do you mean?"

Nini shrugs, and undoes the laces of her left skate. She's playing coy, like the question hadn't been eating at her for a long time. Like she totally wasn't bothered by it.

They had been together for almost three months, he knew her better than that.

"I don't know, you guys just seem really close." she puts an emphasis on the really part, ticks her jaw the way she always does when something is bothering her.

Ricky's really confused, because Gina and him had always been 'really close', he honestly couldn't remember a time when they weren't. She was his best friend, that was all.  
And, okay, he'll admit that he had a tiny crush on her in eight grade, and he kissed her and acted like a total idiot. 

But, that was over a year ago.  
He was completely over it.

Really.

Truly.

Honestly.

"She's my best friend, you know that", he scoots closer to her and kisses her on the cheek.

Nini's totally not having it though, because instead of blushing and giggling the way she always does, she pushes him away and walks over to the desk to turn in her skates. Ricky follows behind her.

They don't say anything until they turn in their skates and are waiting outside for their parents to pick them up.

Ricky walks over to her and wraps an arm around her shoulder, asks, "Why are you suddenly so upset about this?". She leans back into him.

"I don't know, I think she likes you." 

A laugh escapes Ricky, because that? That was crazy. Gina is his best friend, he knew her like the back of his hand. Ricky would have definitely known if something was up, if something had changed.

"Okay, you've officially lost your mind." Ricky tells her, he spins her around and takes her head in his hands, checking for any sign of trauma. Nini laughs, and swats his hand away.

"I'm being serious, I see the way she looks at you." 

"She's totally in looove"

Ricky doesn't have time for this. So he shuts her down real quick, says "Im gonna stop you right there. Gina is not in loove with me, and even if she were. Which she's not. You're my girlfriend and I only want to kiss you." He grabs her face and gives her a peck, in case his point wasn't fully clear. 

Before she can say anything else, their parents pull up with in seconds of each other -thank God- and they part ways. 

The rest of the night, Ricky can't shake this feeling in that sits in the bottom of his stomach, he feels sick. And his mind is running over and over again, and it won't just shut up for one second. It's all so loud, and really becoming too much.

He doesn't get much sleep that night, or for the rest of the month really.

September 2018

Gina's starting high school, and a new school means that her mother's domineering bullshit is ramped up to 100. She had insisted on doing Gina's hair for the first day of school, and honestly its all a little to reminiscent of her first day at this damn town.  
Because her mother's fussing over her hair and lecturing her about that first impression crap like she did when she was seven.  
Honestly? She still doesn't care. Because she's learned that people will think of you what they will, even if your hair is perfect and you have the right dress on. 

One thing is different though, because instead of pleasing and following Gina's yelling right back. She's fourteen now and learns that pleasing won't get her anywhere, if you wanted change it had to happen on your own terms. 

They get into an argument because Gina pulls away and tells her mom to stop, that she's a teenager and can do her hair however she wants. That people don't care, it's only her.

Her mother screams back, but then she starts crying, wondering where she went so wrong to raise 'a daughter like you'. 

Gina tells her that she's too controlling, and that since she can't control her dad or anything else in her life, she controls her. That she can't stand to be around her for another second because if she does she just. might. suffocate. 

Her mother does not take that too well, tells her to not bother coming home tonight before she slams the door.

She spends the rest of the week at Ricky's.

September 2018

"You know you're still like my favorite person ever, right?"

Gina sighs, "Yeah"

"Good."

September 2019

At the beginning of summer Ricky breaks NIni's heart, and at the beginning of Gina's sophomore year, she turns around and breaks it right back.

After Nini had told him she loved him, Gina was met with a crying Ricky at her doorstep. Which was already alarming enough, but he never came over to her house. Ever. 

She knew something was wrong.

He told her that she wrote him a song, basically laying all her feelings out there for him. 

She loved him.

He just couldn't say it back. 

"God, why am I such an idiot. I should have just said it back. I completely froze, I couldn't even say anything. I couldn't even look at her." Gina's sitting on her bed. Watching him pace back and forth the length of her room. It was all really alarming. It was like he was so overcome with emotion, his body couldn't take it, it wouldn't stay still.

Gina gets up and wraps her arms around him, gets him to stop moving. 

She lies down with him on her bed and holds him while shakes, while he sobs.

She knows why he couldn't say it back .  


And, it's not fair for Nini to be mad it him, he couldn't help it. His parents never had a loving relationship, his mother was never around. Didn't care enough to stay. Didn't love him or his dad enough to be there.

Broken people are born from broken families. 

Gina would know.

She was broken too.

After his shoulders stop shaking and things come to a quiet calm. She tells him that he's not an idiot, the opposite infact. That people can't just go around saying they love someone when they don't mean it, that that's how people get hurt. That that's how you can make someone broken too.

He listens and she thinks it stirs some kind of peace in him because he's suddenly asleep and she can feel his soft breathes. Coming in constant waves.  
She thinks she's getting tired, she falls asleep too.  
.  
.  
.  
After that night, the rest of summer is spent with Ricky in utter and complete denial. He spends it hanging out with a laundry list of girls, Gina knows he really only wants one. 

He picks up skating too, and surprisingly he's pretty good at it, a natural, if you will.

When they get back to school, Ricky marches straight up to Nini, all hey babe, like nothing ever happened. Like he thought they were still together, like that summer was only a minor setback in their relationship. 

Nini has a new boyfriend though, E.J. Caswell, a senior. It hits Ricky in the face like a semi, crushes his body and tears all his insides apart. 

He definitely wasn't expecting that. 

Gina definitely was though.

"I need to get her back", Ricky tells her after their interaction in the hallway. 

Gina knows this wont go well. But she's his best friend, and best friends are supposed to be supportive.

His big plan is to join the school musical, which doesn't really surprise her. What surprises her is that he's actually good, like really good.  
She's known Ricky for nine years and not once, has she ever heard him sing. She didn't even know he played guitar, it was usually in the corner of his room collecting dust.  
Surprises can be a good thing though, and she thinks she likes this new side of her friend. 

He's happier and she can tell because he smiles all the time now, and it's in that same way he used to when they were seven and things could be fixed by a swing and the wind ripping through their hair.

Man, she missed those pearly whites.

June 2020

It's the end of his junior year, and the beginning of summer. The play went great, and he honestly learned a lot about himself through the whole experience. He found another family outside of Gina and his dad, because people were kind and they didn't always leave.

Operation Get Nini was a fail, but Ricky learned to be okay with it, just like he learned to accept that his mom left and it wasn't his fault. That she just wasn't wired to be a mother and a wife and take care of the things and people she had left behind. 

Well, maybe he hadn't fully healed from it yet. But he was mending.

He told Nini why he couldn't tell her those cursed three words, that he watched the way his dad fell in love his mother, and how she never really felt it back. How he was afraid to fall into the same trap.

She told him she understood, that it was okay, because things like that took time to heal from.

And, God. He could practically feel the air escape from his lungs, like a breath that he had been keeping in since last summer. It was exactly what he needed. He needed her to understand. That he didn't do it to hurt her, that he did because he was scared, that he did it because he cared.

They hugged and agreed to remain friends, because really that was what he need. 

Nini was his first girlfriend, and he would be forever grateful for her.

It's the second day of summer and him and Gina have found themselves at their old swinging spot.

Its midnight, but they don't find the darkness so scary anymore.

"Okay, you're totally gonna fall on your ass," he singsongs.

Gina's currently swinging on the swing standing up because apparently she's got a death wish. Ricky tried to tell her that it wasn't a good idea, but she had always been head strong and telling her something wasn't a good idea always made her want to do it more. 

He's sitting in the swing next to her, idle. He's discovered that watching her was more fun than actually doing the act itself. Her hair is flying through the wind, curls flailing and whipping all around her head. Her eyes are closed, and her head is tilted back, like she's off in another world. She looks beautiful. There was that word again. 

And, then suddenly it all comes crashing down, her feet slip and her ass is in the gravel.

Just. Like. He. Predicted.

Ricky laughs. He's not a total asshole though, and he rushes over to her to make sure she's not like dead, or anything.

"Are you okay?" , he chokes over a laugh. Because it is funny. Real funny.

Gina clenches her jaw, bares a smile like she wants to kill him at the moment, says, "Just help me up, dick".

Ricky should have known it was a trap the moment she flashed her dazzling smile because the second his warm hand met hers he's being pulled down. 

It kinda backfires though because the force causes him to come crashing down on her, and now she's lying flat on her back with a teenage boy ontop of her.

"Oh, my God, we should really cut back on the Pizza, you weigh like a thousand pounds", she groans and tries to push him off of her, he's stronger though and he plants his hands on either side of her and gives her his best smirk.

She smells like strawberries (he's always loved strawberries) and there's a stick in her hair, and he just really want's to kiss her right about now.

"You were my first kiss, did you know that?"

Ricky falls back into a sitting position, he definitely wasn't expecting that. 

He takes her hand and pulls her up with him, clears his throat, all the sudden it's dry, he should really drinks some water.

There's a long moment of silence between them and he can hear a car passing by in the distance.  
But that doesn't really matter. All that matters is that she's all of about five inches from him, and if he wanted, if he could, Ricky would grab her face and kiss her again.

Ricky was never really one for bold moves, though.

"Uh... no", he finally says, it comes out as more of a whisper.

"Sorry about that.", he rubs the back of his neck and looks down, because looking at her was becoming too hard.

Gina shrugs, a smile playing at her lips. "Don't be sorry, it was...nice."

It's Ricky's turn to smile. 

"Nice?"

"I'll be sure to let my future girlfriend know.", he lifts his head to look at her, runs his fingers through his curls.

She knocks her knees against his, twists her mouth, eyes him before standing up.

"You're a jerk, you know."

"I know." 

She gives him a lopsided smile and extends her hand, helps pull him off the ground. 

"Come on, I have the strongest craving for a snickers right now and you're taking me." she says jumping on his back.

Ricky follows his orders and takes her to the nearest gas station, even though its 12 o'clock at night and they'll probably get killed.

He smiles to himself as he watches her make a beeline for the candy section.

Her first kiss, huh? Ricky liked the sound of that.

May 2021

It's graduation and nobody asked him if he was ready. 

He's eighteen now, and he's supposed to be an adult. It doesn't really feel like it though. He has a stomach ache, and all he really want's is his dad. 

He's sitting in his seat, listening to their Valedictorian give the age-old speech of remembering the best years of your life and blah, blah, bleh.  
There's people around him that he's known all his life, his friends, family, teachers, coaches. Getting ready to say goodbye,  
getting ready to move onto the next stage of their lives.  
And it all just really has him kinda freaking out, because he wasn't ready, and these changes were happening too quickly, and he just really didn't want leave.

He received his acceptance letter from BYU at the beginning of the year, and it was all really exciting at the time. But, now, sitting here, it just seems like, really scary.

Being an adult as a kid seemed like really fun, he's now realizing that what was really fun was being a kid and now it's too late. 

As the speeches end they all rise and throw their caps into the air.

If it's supposed be this life changing moment where everything suddenly makes sense, its not. It mostly just makes him want to cry. 

He finds Gina and his Dad after the ceremony, she's crying when he walk's up to her.

She wraps her arms around him, says "I'm so proud of you", with her face buried in his neck.

He breathes in her scent, strawberries, and it immediately grounds him. 

Even though she's seventeen now, she still smells the same, and she still has perfect curls, and he still wants to run his fingers through it, and it's the most comforting feeling he's has all night.

Because some things really never change.

He grips her tighter, says "thanks" and lets her go. 

After a very awkward dinner with his mother and father, Ricky finds himself in his room, Gina laying right next to him.

His hands finds hers. Her hands, he always loved her hands. And brings them up to his lips.

She turns to him.

"You know you're like my favorite person ever, right?"

"Yeah", he says. 

"Good."


End file.
